We had the blue-black enamel finished Castine and were in love with it. I had to talk myself and my wife into giving that up. In retrospect, it was the right move and we don't regret it.
Yes, it's a draw collar. Hasn't worked in a while. Have to take it apart and resplice a wire that keeps coming lose. The heat seems to take its toll. The stove isn't so much hard to start but if not done very carefully we can get smoke in our home. Had high winds today and we were getting some smoke. The draft isn't great. Probably because we have a lot of really tall trees. Another reason we might be better off with a non-cat stove.
That is another reason to look at the Alderlea. It's an easy breather and works ok in weaker draft situations. I wish Tom's shop was still in Fairhaven. He would have taken care of you.
Yes, I remember that shop. Was sad when it closed up. So the Alderlea's going to be a better choice, you think than the Hearthstone? Also, assuming my wife insists on an enamel finish, do you think we can make due with the T5 (given the size of the home but also the fact we're just supplementing another heating system)? Typically, when we're burning the Ashford, we've got it running low and slow so I assume the T5, with its higer temp burn, would work. We'd just be reloading a smaller box more often. Do you concur?
Yes, I think it's 2.9 for the Ashford and 2.1 for the T5. The T6 says it's 3.0. I'm going to ask the dealer if they plan to introduce an enamel T6 because that sounds ideal.
Should not only consider the size of the firebox but BTU output as well. Some stoves will emit more BTU's for identically sized firebox.
I wouldn’t put too much into manufactures BTU claims, it’s mostly marketing and different testing methods.
This is another possibility. Having had so many challenges with this stove, it might be nice to have something easier to deal with. But it's not the stove's fault that the installation was bad. Assuming it can be fixed and we can run it without smoke leaking into our home. The other day, when the temperature outside picked up and the wind was blowing hard, we started to smell smoke. In that moment, I felt a strong desire to move on from this stove.
The Ashford probably has a better reputation than the the new F500 V3. I understand where you are coming from. I just checked both stove have 15’ minimum flue requirements. Is if you smoke issue is draft related it could still be an issue with the F500.
Before replacing it, there are 2 issues evident that have nothing to do with the stove. The first is weak and possibly reversing draft and the second is water infiltration. Both need to be solved regardless of the stove choice. Otherwise, this scenario may repeat itself. Where did the water come from? Could be the result of condensation in a cold, reversing draft flue? Is there a humidifier in the house?
